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Trainspotting goes off Netflix in two days. Should you watch it?

So Netflix does its routine deal of removing and adding
shows in order to well create space and honor contracts of course. So one of
the movies leaving Netflix, amongmany others,
on 1 Feb, 2017 will be Trainspotting and I wondered if I should watch it.

I stumbled upon the link a couple of days ago and thought to
myself maybe I should get around to watching it. I decided to go for it and
here are some of my reasons: one being that a long time ago, perhaps it still
is, but Trainspotting, the book by Irvine Welsh, was on a reading list in high
school. At that time, I chose Captain Corelli's Mandolin and the Great Gatsby
over it. Literature over language the choice was during my A levels. So missed
opportunity then. Second being I tried to watch the movie but the
content was a bit too explicit for me at that time. So I switched it off. Is
it still too much for my brain? Have I not seen worse, more horrifying and
revolting things? I probably have. My definitions have changed a lot since.

Fast forward five years later, I decided to give it a shot.
See what the fuss was all about!

Good decision. This particular scene made it worth my time. I
burst out laughing.

"Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized
by!" I bet so many former colonies, including the one I come from, cracked up at that jibe.

Directed by Danny Boyle (the same dude who is to blame for
the confusion about what India is really like), Trainspotting is a satirical look
at the substance abuse that plagued Scottish youth in Edinburgh and Leith in the 1980s.

"By 1983 you had 3.6 million unemployed. It tells its
own story – you've got a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands. The
government was basically creating demand", say Mikey to the reporters at the Guardian about the period in time that Boyle's portraying in the film. In
his defense Boyle did portray a large number of the issues of the 80s
fairly accurately- joblessness, surplus of cheap heroin, Scots feeling
like second class citizen and the idea of moving to London for better
prospects. All of these social issues have been woven into the film and subtly
commented on. Although some would argue that the film has made the
youth who were involved look "badass" and "cool" and to some extent I would agree. For the most
part, the film sympathizes with the protagonists. Given the context,
the conditions they live in and the limited knowledge the people around them
have, its depressing how the story ends.

Large themes aside, the plot is inspired by basic and fairly
commonplace incidences if you are between the ages of 15 and perhaps 35. You
know someone or a someone you know knows someone who is so heavily involved
with substance abuse and they know exactly what the movie is talking about because it happened to them (even if its by the "its a small world/seven degrees of separation deal). The plot is also about friendships that are as dependent as the next hit, as fragile as a
junkie's mind sober and as vicious as the origins of this addiction.

The movie opens with fast talking Mark Renton who is running
at full pace into your face and talking about how success and material hoarding
go hand-in-hand when you choose 'life' and all that it has to offer. Renton is
a far cry from being the hero of the movie. He has all of the character traits
your parents spend hours and perhaps even large sums of money keeping you from
developing them. He is a junkie in search of his next hit. But somehow he is
also what holds the story together. His troubles, highs, lows
and anxieties are shared by the other characters in the plot. Meanwhile
the heroine is an under age school girl who makes an appearance somewhere
in the middle and then at end of the movie but somehow remains a vital
character and makes for the most reliable narrator when compared to
the others in the story. She also has a ginormous pop-art painting in her bedroom, so brownie points for being a cultured
heroine, I must add.

However Renton is also the reason I continued to watch the
film. His story had piqued my interest since he was definitely the lesser
evil and could be saved, wanted to be saved or so it looked like.
Mark Renton, played by Ewan McGregor, a Scottish born himself (and yes the same
man who plays Obi-wan in the Star Wars trilogy of the 2000s) does a good
job of being the edgy, naive and constantly jittery junkie who acts as the glue that holds
his group together. He is also the only who tries to give up heroin and start a
better life. And for that reason you want to support him, you want to hear him
out, you want to give him that moment of self-doubt before hating on him
altogether. It would have certainly been harder if Sick Boy (the blond haired
chap who becomes a pimp eventually and plans a heist) or Spud (who gets jail
time for theft and addiction) or god forbid Begbie (not a junkie but constantly stabbing
people and instigating pub brawls) or even Tommy (who starts of clean and ends
up with AIDS) had been the narrators of the story.

The opening sequence is accompanied by none other than Iggy
Pop's Lust for Life. In order to generate the rock 'n' roll era of the 80s in
the film Boyle puts tracks by Blondie, Primal Scream, Blur, Lou Reed
and several other artists from the period to keep the tempo upbeat and
even convey the high that comes from 'taking a hit'. It was used in just the
right amounts so the audience feel connected to the plot at all times; it makes
them feel like they are inside the heads of the protagonists and so constantly
high and/or looking to get high themselves. The upbeat tempo keeps your
heartbeat racing and your palms gripping the edge of your seat instead
of cradling you pillow. Its hard and unfair to comment on the technical
aspects of the film since the filming was done on equipment from the 90s which
is very different from all the hi-tech HD we have today.

Through Renton, a viewer is given, a very door-wide
open look into what its like to be so addicted to heroin, to share
needles, to cook your next hit, to steal for your next hit, to knowingly (or
maybe unknowingly in that era) contract AIDs and even watch people close to you
die as collateral to your addiction. Maybe it teaches you a lesson, maybe it
serves as educational or maybe it inspires you to write a blogpost,
who knows.

So what is the verdict?

You should watch it because not only does it go off
Netflix pronto but also the sequel just released in the UK. It should be in the
US by March and worldwide soon after. However be warned, some of the stuff
is not for the faint-hearted. But really, those are my only reasons for recommending the film to you. Its an interesting period film, its hilarious and if you're really into any of the actors then this is a good peak into the early stages of their acting career. And after you watch the film, if you are still scratching your head about the title. Here is a pretty good explanation for it which also sums up the movie well.

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